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Sonderkommando Elbe
The Sonderkommando "Elbe" was Luftwaffe task force that was assigned to use a shocking new tactic to turn the tide of the air war over Germany. The mission was for German pilots to use their Messerschmitt Bf 109s to ram American bombers to knock them out of the sky. History By April 1945, Nazi Germany was in its death throes. The Soviet and Allied Armies were approaching Berlin rapidly. Allied bombers, mostly American, were wrecking havoc on Berlin, Dresden and other German cities with daily strategic bombing offensive. By late 1944, the Luftwaffe was reduced to mere recruits, many of their commanders and skilled aces having been killed, shot down or captured. Most of the Luftwaffe force was then made up of young enlisted pilots. Oberst Hago Herrmann came up with a plan to have German pilots to ram the American bombers out of the sky instead of taking the time to shoot them down. The hope for the Germans was that the rammings would cause American bomber pilots to refuse to bomb German cities out of fear of the seemingly-suicidal German pilots. The Luftwaffe predicted that the Allies would suspend bombings for at least 4 to 6 weeks. This would allow the German factories to produce enough Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters to turn the tide of the air war in Germany's favor. The Sonderkommando Elbe pilots were not like the Japanese kamikaze pilots. The Japanese pilots had loaded their planes with explosives on board and crashed their planes completely into American ships, ending their lives. The Elbe pilots were expected to take down American bombers and bail out and report to base for more ramming missions. On March 7, 1945, a call for volunteers was sent out. Out of 2,000 volunteers, 300 were selected for training for the mission by the Elbe river. Most of the pilots' training was limited to take off and flying to the target. The date of attack was selected for April 7, 1945. Against 14,000 American bombers and 800 P-51 escort fighters, 180 German fighters were mobilized. On April 7, 1945, the pilots were launched. Out of 180, 60 returned to base with engine problems and another 47 were shot down by P-51 fighters before they could reach their targets. However, some pilots did take down some bombers. The most successful of the mission was by Heinrich Rosner, who took out two B-24s in one ramming attack. Having been separated from his unit by poor flight coordination, he spotted bombers of the 389th Bomb Group. Diving from the clouds, he missed his intended target as he pulled up. The B-24 gunners could not fire on the German pilot wended it way through the formation. Picking a new target, Rosner pulled out in front of the formation then turned to ram the lead aircraft, the Pallas of Dallas. Rosner's right wing sliced through the B-24's cockpit, severing it from the fuselage, than the plane careened into the deputy lead bomber, piloted by Walter Kunkel. Both bombers broke up in mid air with few survivors. Rosner bailed out of his aircraft and survived. Another B-24, called Sacktime was rammed by Heinrich Henkel. Just as the gunner ignited the Bf-109's fuel tank, Henkel hit the B-24's tail section, severing the right vertical stabilizer. The Bf-109 also cut a hole in the fuselage, and cartwheeled out in front of the bomber. Though violently slammed by the collision, Henkel bailed out just before his plane exploded. Sacktime flew towards Allied Belgium for almost an hour before the crew bailed out. The mission was a failure. No other organized ramming attacks were organized after April 7, 1945. Category:Luftwaffe Units Category:Units Category:German Units